The ambition is for the train link to eventually extend across the continent to West Africa

Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh recently revealed to AFP news agency that talks were ongoing between both nations over the establishment of China’s first official overseas naval base.

Beijing has refused to confirm or deny the reports but this growing friendship has been frowned upon by the Americans.

A US congressman protested before John Kerry’s visit to Djibouti that US interests in the region could be jeopardised by China’s growing and “worrisome” presence there.

This is made even more glaring with reports that the Chinese base will be established in the northern Obock region, eclipsing smaller US military installations there.

It will even have access to an airport there, which the intelligence publication The Indian Ocean Newsletter says is already under construction, by a Chinese company of course.

The main US base will remain at Camp Lemonnier, the lease for which was recently renewed for a further 10 years.

Spanish warship La Galicia at the French military base in Djibouti

China recently deployed a 700-man force to protect its oil interests in South Sudan, showing it is keen to protect its $200bn-a-year trade with Africa.

This extends to warding off pirate attacks on the crucial trade routes between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.

Chinese nationals working on infrastructure projects in the region would also benefit from the proximity of a military base in the region.

Hundreds were recently evacuated from war-torn Yemen, as well as from Libya in 2011 as violence escalated.

But the Americans are not convinced that Beijing does not have ulterior motives.

The US pays $63m annually in rent for its base and the Chinese will bring in $100m for theirs, in addition to their ongoing infrastructure projects so it is not difficult to see why Djibouti is looking past the rivalries of the global powers and enjoying its lucrative role as their landlord.